Method of Producing and Operating a Low Power Junction Field Effect Transistor

ABSTRACT

A method for using an inverter with a pair of complementary junction field effect transistors (CJFET) with a small linewidth is provided. The method includes having an input capacitance for said CJFET inverter to be less than the corresponding input capacitance of a CMOS inverter of similar linewidth. The CJFET operates at a power supply with a lesser value than the voltage drop across a forward-biased diode having a reduced switching power as compared to said CMOS inverter and having a propagation delay for said CJFET inverter that is at least comparable to the corresponding delay of said CMOS inverter.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/635,004, filed Dec. 7, 2006, which claims priority under 35U.S.C. §119 to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/748,089, filed Dec.7, 2005, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Integrated circuits and devices, and methods of producing and/or usingsuch, are disclosed, such as MOS transistors and Junction Field EffectTransistors (JFETs) and circuits.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Very Large Scale Integrated Circuits are being scaled to smallerdimensions to gain greater packing density and faster speed in acontinuation of the trend of the past thirty years. Currently, CMOStechnology is being manufactured with sub-100 nanometer (nm) minimumdimensions in 2005. Scaling CMOS with the minimum line width below 100nm presents numerous problems to designers of integrated circuits. A fewof the problems of the scaled CMOS transistors below 100 nm arehighlighted below;

-   -   1. Power dissipation in CMOS is a big problem due to the high        switching load caused by the increase in gate capacitance per        unit area as the thickness of the gate dielectric is scaled.    -   2. The thickness of the gate dielectric used in the MOS        transistor has been scaled down to less than 20 angstroms.        Thinning of the gate dielectric has resulted in a significant        amount of current through the gate dielectric as voltage is        applied to the gate electrode. This current is termed the gate        leakage.    -   3. The transistors conduct a finite current between the drain        and source even when the gate voltage is reduced to zero. This        current is termed the source drain leakage.    -   4. The result of the effects described above is CMOS circuits        which conduct a significant amount of current even when there is        no activity (static current); this undermines a key advantage of        CMOS. Because of the static current, the static power, or the        power dissipated by the CMOS chip when there is no activity, has        become quite large, and at temperatures close to 100 degrees        centigrade, the static power dissipation can become nearly equal        to the dynamic power dissipation in CMOS circuits. As the CMOS        technology is scaled to 65 nm, the problem of leakage is        becoming more severe. This trend continues as the technology is        scaled further to line widths of 45 nm and below.    -   5. The lateral scaling of CMOS design rules has not been        accompanied by vertical scaling of feature sizes, resulting in        three dimensional structures with extreme aspect ratios. For        instance, the height of the polysilicon gate has decreased only        50% while the lateral dimension of the polysilicon gate has been        reduced by over 90%. Dimensions of the “spacer” (a component of        a CMOS transistor which separates the gate from the heavily        doped source and drain regions) are dependent upon the height of        the polysilicon, so it does not scale in proportion to the        lateral dimensions. Process steps which are becoming difficult        with scaling of vertical dimensions include formation of shallow        source and drain regions, their silicidation without causing        junction leakage, and etching and filling of contact holes to        the source and drain regions    -   6. It is well known to those skilled in the art to measure power        supply leakage current as an effective screen for detecting        defects introduced in the fabrication of the device. This method        is sometimes referred to as the I_(ddq) test by those skilled in        the art. This method is effective for CMOS with the minimum line        width above 350 nm. Scaling CMOS with the minimum line width        below 350 nm increases the inherent leakage current to levels        comparable to defect induced leakage current, rendering the        I_(ddq) test ineffective. Biasing the well voltage of the MOS        device to eliminate the inherent leakage current introduces new        elements of leakage such as gate leakage, junction tunneling        leakage, etc.

The prior art in junction field effect transistors dates back to the1950s when they were first reported. Since then, they have been coveredin numerous texts such as “Physics of Semiconductor Devices” by SimonSze and “Physics and Technology of Semiconductor Devices” by Andy Grove.Junction field effect devices were reported in both elemental andcompound semiconductors. Numerous circuits with junction field effecttransistors have been reported, as follows; such as:

Nanver and Goudena, “Design considerations for Integrated High-Frequencyp-Channel JFET's”, IEEE Transactions Electron Devices, vol. 35, No. 11,1988, pp. 1924-1933.

O. Ozawa, “Electrical Properties of a Triode Like Silicon VerticalChannel JFET”, IEEE Transcations Electron Devices vol. ED-27, No. 11,1980, pp. 2115-2123.

H. Takanagi and G. Kano, “Complementary JFET Negative-ResistanceDevices”, IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits, vol. SC-10, No. 6,December 1975, pp. 509-515.

A. Hamade and J. Albarran, “A JFET/Bipolar Eight-Channel AnalogMultiplexer”. IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits, vol. SC-16, No. 6,December 1978.

K. Lehovec and R. Zuleeg, “Analysis of GaAs FET's for Integrated Logic”,IEEE Transaction on Electron Devices, vol. ED-27, No. 6, June 1980.

In addition, a report published by R. Zuleeg titled “Complementary GaAsLogic” dated 4 August, 1985 is cited as prior art. The authors have alsopublished the material in Electron Device Letters in 1984 in a papertitled “Double Implanted GaAs Complementary JFET's”.

A representative structure of a conventional n-channel JFET is shown inFIG. 8. The JFET is formed in an n-type substrate 810. It is containedin a p-well region marked 815. The body of the JFET is shown as 820,which is an n-type diffused region containing source (832), channel(838), and drain (834) regions. The gate region (836) is p-type, formedby diffusion into the substrate. Contacts to the source, drain, and gateregions are marked as 841, 842, and 840, respectively. The criticaldimension of the JFET is the gate length, marked as 855. It isdetermined by the minimum contact hole dimension 850, plus the necessaryoverlap required to ensure that the gate region encloses the gatecontact. The gate length 855 is significantly larger than 850. Thisfeature of construction of the prior art JFET limits the performance ofthese devices, since channel length is substantially larger than theminimum feature size. In addition, the capacitances of the verticalsidewalls of the gate diffusion to drain and source regions 861 and 862respectively are also quite large. The gate-drain sidewall capacitanceforms the Miller capacitance, a term known to those skilled in the art,and significantly limits the performance of the device at highfrequencies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method for using an inverter with a pair of complementary junctionfield effect transistors (CJFET) with a small linewidth is provided. Themethod includes having an input capacitance for said CJFET inverter tobe less than the corresponding input capacitance of a CMOS inverter ofsimilar linewidth. The CJFET operates at a power supply with a lesservalue than the voltage drop across a forward-biased diode having areduced switching power as compared to said CMOS inverter and having apropagation delay for said CJFET inverter that is at least comparable tothe corresponding delay of said CMOS inverter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features, advantages andobjects are attained and can be understood in detail, a more particulardescription, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to theembodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings.

It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate onlyexemplary embodiments and are therefore not to be considered limiting asother equally effective embodiments will be apparent to those skilled inthe art.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a complementary JFET inverter.

FIG. 2 a is a diagram of a complementary JFET inverter with the welltied to the source.

FIG. 2 b is a diagram of a complementary JFET inverter with the welltied to the gate.

FIG. 2 c is a diagram of a complementary JFET inverter with the welltied to an external pad.

FIG. 3 a is a diagram of the layout of a JFET.

FIG. 3 b is a diagram of the cross section of a poly gate JFETcorresponding to FIG. 3 a.

FIG. 3 c is a graph showing the doping profile of a JFET through thegate and the channel.

FIG. 4 is a cross section of a poly gate JFET similar to a conventionalMOSFET.

FIG. 5 is a cross section of a poly gate planar JFET with all thecontacts made through polysilicon.

FIG. 6 is a cross section of a poly gate planar JFET with the channelregion grown epitaxially.

FIG. 7 is a cross section of a poly gate planar JFET with the channelregion grown epitaxially and the polycrystalline semiconductor alloygate comprising carbon, silicon, and germanium.

FIG. 8 is a cross section of a conventional n-channel JFET.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of building the complementary JFET structure asshown in FIG. 5. Each step of the flow chart is further illustrated inFIG. 10-20.

FIG. 10 is the cross section of the silicon wafer after the formation ofthe isolation region.

FIG. 11 is the cross section of the silicon wafer after the formation ofthe n-well and the p-well.

FIG. 12 a is the cross section of the silicon wafer after the formationof the channel region of nJFET.

FIG. 12 b is the cross section of the silicon wafer after the formationof the channel region of the pJFET.

FIG. 13 is the cross section of the silicon wafer after polysilicondeposition and selective doping of polysilicon.

FIG. 14 is the cross section of the silicon wafer after deposition of aprotective coating on the polysilicon layer.

FIG. 15 is the cross section of the silicon wafer after polysilicondefinition by photolithography and etching.

FIG. 16 a is the cross section of the silicon wafer after doping thelink region between the gate and the drain/source of the p-channel JFET.

FIG. 16 b is the cross section of the silicon wafer after doping thelink region between the gate and the drain/source of the n-channel JFET.

FIG. 17 is the cross section of the silicon wafer after filling theempty space between the polysilicon structures and then performingplanarization.

FIG. 18 is the cross section of the silicon wafer after formation ofself aligned silicide on the exposed polysilicon surfaces.

FIG. 19 is the cross section of the silicon wafer after deposition ofthe dielectric layer on polysilicon and the subsequent etching ofcontact holes.

FIG. 20 is the cross section of the silicon wafer after metal depositionand definition.

FIG. 21-24 describe the formation of a MOS transistor using the processadapted from FIG. 9.

FIG. 21 shows the cross section of the silicon wafer after formation ofisolation regions, well structures, threshold implants and gatedielectric. The gate dielectric is grown and etched from the waferexcept for regions surrounding the MOS gate region.

FIG. 22 shows the cross section of the silicon wafer after polysilicondeposition, polysilicon doping and formation of a protective layer ontop of the polysilicon.

FIG. 23 shows the cross section of the silicon wafer after polysilicondefinition.

FIG. 24 shows the cross section of the silicon wafer after the linkregion is formed between the gate and the source/drain by ionimplantation.

FIG. 25 shows the complete flow for forming JFETs and MOSFETs on thesame wafer. Each step is further illustrated in FIG. 26-30.

FIG. 26 shows the cross section of the silicon wafer after the n-welland the p-well have been formed.

FIG. 27 shows the cross section of the silicon wafer after the channelfor the JFET is formed.

FIG. 28 shows the cross section of the silicon wafer after the channelfor MOS is formed.

FIG. 29 shows the cross section of the silicon wafer after source anddrain regions for MOS and JFET are formed.

FIG. 30 a shows the cross section of the silicon wafer after the contactholes and metal connections are formed.

FIG. 30 b shows the layout of the NMOS and nJFET after the contact holesand metal connections are formed.

FIG. 31 shows an exemplary complementary poly FET or CFET.

FIG. 32 shows an exemplary propagation delay associated with anexemplary repeater insertion configured using a transistor according toan exemplary embodiment described herein.

FIG. 33 shows an exemplary delay and power comparison associated with anexemplary CFET configured in accordance with an exemplary embodimentversus CMOS.

FIG. 34 shows an exemplary propagation delay for CFET versus CMOS versusbuffer segments (width).

FIG. 35 shows an exemplary comparison sub-threshold conduction of JFETversus MOS.

FIGS. 36 a and 36 b show a comparison of gate current in an NFET (FIG.36 a) versus NMOS (FIG. 36 b).

FIG. 37 shows an exemplary Figure of merit associated with CMOS, while

FIG. 38 shows an exemplary Figure of merit associated with a transistorconfigured in accordance with exemplary embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A method of building complementary logic circuits is disclosed usingJunction Field Effect Transistors (JFETs) in silicon. an exemplarymethod is suited for deep submicron dimensions, such as below 65 nm.

A system of semiconductor devices having, for example, minimum featuresizes of 65 nm and below, is also disclosed. Methods and structuresdisclosed herein can build semiconductor devices and circuits which aresimilar to those used for CMOS devices. As such, exemplary embodimentscan be inserted in an existing VLSI design and fabrication flow withoutany significant change in the overall system for designing andfabricating VLSI circuits. Exemplary attributes are as follows;

-   -   1. It allows significant reduction in the power dissipation of        the circuit.    -   2. It allows significant reduction in the gate capacitance.    -   3. It allows significant reduction in the leakage current at the        gate.    -   4. It allows significant reduction in the leakage current        between source and drain.    -   5. It allows significant simplification of the VLSI        manufacturing process.    -   6. It leverages the design infrastructure developed for CMOS        technology. It is contemplated that all complex logic functions        available in prior art CMOS cell library can be implemented with        the devices disclosed herein. These complex logic functions        include but not limited to inverter, nand, nor, latch,        flip-flop, counter, multiplexer, encoder, decoder, multiplier,        arithmetic logic unit, programmable cell, memory cell,        micro-controller, JPEG decoder, and MPEG decoder.    -   7. It leverages the existing manufacturing and test        infrastructure used for CMOS.    -   8. It allows the method of measuring power supply leakage        current as an effective screen for detecting defects introduced        in the fabrication of the device.

A complementary Junction Field Effect Transistor (JFET) disclosed hereinis operated in the enhancement mode. As is known to those skilled in theart, enhancement mode, implies that the transistor is in the “OFF” statewhen the potential between the gate and the source terminals is zero. Inthis state, there is little or no current flow between drain and sourcewhen a positive (negative) bias is applied at the drain terminal of then-channel (p-channel) JFET. As the potential at the gate is increased(decreased), the n-channel (p-channel) JFET enters the high conductionregime. In this mode, a finite current flows between the drain and thesource upon application of positive (negative) bias at the drain. Alimitation of known enhancement mode JFET devices is that their currentdrive is limited by the maximum gate voltage, which is less than onediode drop. A gate voltage in excess of one diode drop (the built-inpotential) turns on the gate-channel diode which is an undesirable modeof operation for the JFET. This limitation can be resolved by, forexample, limiting the biasing voltage, VDD, to less than one diode drop.The problem of low current drive of the JFET is addressed by scaling thechannel length of the JFET to sub-100 nanometer dimensions. When theJFET gate length is less than 70 nanometers and the power supply voltageis 0.5 V, the current output of the complementary JFET devices and theswitching speed of the inverters made with the complementary JFETdevices compare favorably with known CMOS devices.

It should be noted that although the speed-power performance of theJFETs becomes comparable with the CMOS devices at sub-70 nanometerdimensions, the maximum power supply voltage for the JFETs can still belimited to below a diode drop. To satisfy certain applications whichrequire an interface to an external circuit driven to higher voltagelevels, structures and methods to build CMOS devices are also disclosed.The CMOS devices described herein differ from known CMOS along thefollowing points;

-   -   1. CMOS is integrated with complementary JFETs.    -   2. In one embodiment, CMOS is built without any “spacer”.    -   3. Contacts to the CMOS terminals can be planar, or at the same        level, which can improve the manufacturability of the devices.    -   4. Other salient features of exemplary CMOS devices described        herein.

An exemplary circuit diagram of an inverter is shown in FIG. 1. Theoperating terminal voltages of the two transistors under ON and OFFconditions are shown in Table 1:

TABLE 1 Terminal Voltages at the CFET Gate Under ON and OFF Conditions.Vin Vout FT1 FT2 0 Vdd ON OFF Vdd 0 OFF ON

The operation of the circuit shown in FIG. 1 can be remarkably similarto the operation of the corresponding CMOS circuit. Exemplaryembodiments of JFETs described herein can operate at voltage levelswhich are similar to the voltage levels of the known CMOS technology.The input voltage varies between 0 and Vdd. The output voltage variesbetween Vdd and 0 in an inverse relationship to the input voltage. Thus,for the two states of the inverter, when the applied voltage at theinput terminal is 0 and Vdd, the output voltage is Vdd and zerorespectively. This can be achieved by the two transistors FT1 and FT2being switched ON and OFF, as stated in Table 1 above.

JFETs operate by applying a control signal at the gate, which controlsthe conduction characteristics of the channel between the source and thedrain. The gate forms a p-n junction with the channel. The voltage atthe gate with respect to the source controls the width of the depletionregion of the gate-to-channel junction. The undepleted part of thechannel is available for conduction. Thus, the channel is turned ON andOFF by applying appropriate voltages at the gate and source terminals ofthe JFET transistor. Current will flow between the source and the drainwhen the channel is turned ON and the appropriate voltage is applied tothe drain.

The JFET transistors FT1 and FT2 in the JFET inverter can function in amanner very similar to the MOS transistors in a CMOS inverter. Theoperation of a CMOS inverter is well known to those skilled in the art.The p-channel JFET (FT1) is connected to the power supply at its sourceterminal. The n-channel JFET (FT2) is connected to the ground at itssource terminal. The drain terminals of the two transistors areconnected together and to the output terminal of the gate. The gate ofthe p-channel JFET FT1 and the gate of n-channel JFET FT2 are connectedtogether and to the input terminal of the gate, as shown in FIG. 1. Thiscircuit configuration is called a CFET inverter in the remainder of thisdocument. In general, gates formed in a similar manner with p-channeland n-channel JFETs are called CFET gates.

The functioning of the inverter is explained in greater detail here inorder to reveal an exemplary full implementation. This is accomplishedby first explaining the voltages at the source and the drain terminalsof the transistor, which are shown in Table 2. In an exemplary andnon-limiting illustration, the power supply voltage is fixed at 0.5V.

TABLE 2 Junction voltages for JFETs in CFET Gate Vout FT1 FT2 Vin VGSVDS VGS VDS 0.5 0 0 V −0.5 0.5 0 0 0.5 −0.5 0 0 0.5

The gate of the p-channel JFET is made of n-type silicon and the channelis doped p-type. The doping profile of the p-channel JFET is designed toturn off conduction through the channel when the voltage on the gateterminal is at zero volts relative to the source terminal. This deviceis an enhancement mode device. This attribute of the p-channel JFET isdue to the built-in potential at the p-n junction between the gate(p-type) and the channel (n-type). Since the source of the FT1 is tiedto VDD at 0.5V, the external bias between the n-type channel and p-typegate is 0.0V when the gate of the FT1 is also at 0.5 V. This representsthe FT1 in the OFF condition. As the bias at the gate of the p-channeltransistor is decreased to 0.0V, the negative voltage between the gateand the source terminals changes to −0.5V, which causes the depletionlayer to collapse and allows the flow of current from source to drain.This represents the FT1 in the ON condition.

Exemplary embodiments can limit gate current when FT1 is in the ONcondition. The channel-to-gate diode is forward biased at 0.5 V underthis condition, so there is a finite leakage current which flows throughthe gate of the transistor. It is termed the gate leakage. The magnitudeof the gate leakage is controlled by the built-in potential across thegate-channel junction. The built-in potential limits the gate leakagecurrent to a very small amount when this CFET inverter is operated withsupply voltages (V_(DD)) at or below 0.5V for silicon-based circuits.Thus, the CFET inverter works in a manner similar to the CMOS inverterin both design and operating characteristics. The limit for supplyvoltages may be different for other materials because of differences inthe built-in potential. Similarly, the bias voltages for the n-channelJFET are reversed; the transistor is turned “OFF” when the gate-sourcebias is reduced to zero and it is turned on when the gate-source bias isequal to the supply voltage VDD, which is limited to 0.5V in order torestrict the gate current. The gate current of a typical gate-channeljunction is projected in the range of 1 uA/cm² to 100 mA/cm². Incontrast, for an MOS transistor made with 45 nanometer lithography andappropriately scaled gate dielectric thickness, the gate current isprojected to be in excess of 1000 A/cm².

The input capacitance of the JFET transistor is the junction capacitanceof the diode formed by the gate-channel terminals. The capacitance ofthis diode is in the range of 10⁻⁸ F/cm² to 10⁻⁶ F/cm², determined bythe thickness of the depletion layer width of the junction, which is inthe range of 100 angstroms to 3000 angstroms. The input capacitance ofan MOS transistor made with 45 nanometer design rules and 10 angstromthick oxide is an order of magnitude higher than the corresponding inputcapacitance of the JFET. This feature makes the JFET extremelyattractive from the perspective of low power operation.

The JFET transistors also have a fourth electrical terminal, namely thewell. One embodiment of the invention is described here with the wellconnected to the source terminal for both the JFETs, as shown in FIG. 2a.

FIG. 2 b shows an alternate embodiment, in which the well is tied to thegate and used for modulating the conductivity of the channel from boththe top and the bottom.

FIG. 2 c shows yet another embodiment, in which the well of then-channel JFET is connected to an external terminal, which can be usedfor applying any signal to the JFET. In yet another embodiment, the wellof the n-channel JFET is left floating. The corresponding descriptionalso applies to the p-channel JFET. It is well known to those skilled inthe art to measure power supply leakage current as an effective screenfor detecting defects introduced in the fabrication of the device. Thismethod is sometimes referred to as the I_(ddq) test by those skilled inthe art. This method is effective for CMOS with the minimum line widthabove 350 nm. Scaling CMOS with the minimum line width below 350 nmincreases the inherent leakage current to be comparable to the defectinduced leakage current, thus rendering the I_(ddq) test ineffective.For MOS devices with the minimum line width below 100 nm, biasing thewell voltage of the MOS device to eliminate the inherent leakage currentintroduces new elements of leakage such as gate leakage, junctiontunneling leakage, etc. In an exemplary embodiment, biasing the wellvoltage of the JFET can effectively reduce the inherent leakage currentto the pico-ampere range. This makes the I_(ddq) test an effectivescreen for detecting defects introduced in the fabrication of deviceswith the minimum line width below 100 nm.

FIG. 3 a shows an exemplary and non-limiting layout of the JFETtransistor which is used to build this circuit structure. The source,drain, gate and well tap of the n-channel JFET are given by 330, 340,375, and 368 respectively. The contacts to these terminals are marked by372, 374, 373, and 371 respectively.

FIG. 3 b shows a cross-section of the structure of an n-channel JFETwhich includes (e.g., consists of) four terminals; source (330), gate(370), drain (340), and p-well (310). The JFET is formed in a region ofsilicon marked as 315. The JFET is isolated from the surroundingsemiconductor by regions marked as 320; these are filled with aninsulating material such as silicon dioxide. The channel between thesource and drain is shown as object 350. For the n-channel JFET, thesource and drain are highly doped n-type regions formed by dopingsilicon with donor type impurities such as phosphorous, arsenic orantimony. The well is doped by acceptor impurities such as boron orindium. The channel is a narrow region which is doped n-type connectingsource and drain. The gate is a shallow p-type region 370 formed withinthe channel by methods such as diffusion of dopants from the heavily p+doped polysilicon region 375.

A doping profile of the transistor at varying depths from the siliconsurface through the gate (370) and channel (350) is shown in FIG. 3 c.The curve 381 is an exemplary doping profile of the gate region startingfrom the silicon surface. Curves 382, 383, and 384 represent the dopingprofile of the channel, well, and the bulk regions. For the n-JFET, 381is the doping profile of the p-type gate region, 382 is the profile ofthe n-type channel region, 383 is the profile of the p-type well region,and 384 is the profile of the surrounding n-type bulk region. Thegate-channel junction is given by 385, the channel-well junction isgiven by 386, and the well-bulk region junction is given by 387. Thedepth of the junction between gate and channel from the surface ofsilicon (385) is less than the depth of the junction between the channeland the p-well (386).

Other methods for forming the p-type gate junction, such asion-implantation are encompassed herein. Other methods to dope the gate,such as plasma immersion implant, as is well known to those skilled inthe art, are also encompassed.

In FIG. 3 b, the Region 375 is a slab of polysilicon which is dopedheavily p-type and acts as the source for doping of the gate 370. Thep-type gate is used to control the conduction across the channel fromsource to drain. By this novel construction technique, the gate isdiffused in the channel region from heavily doped polysilicon which alsoforms an ohmic contact with the gate. This allows the polysilicon to beused to connect the gate to the external circuit.

The ohmic contact to the well is made by the well tap marked as object368. The contacts to the four terminals of the JFET, namely well,source, gate, and drain are shown in FIG. 3 b also, as objects 371, 372,373, and 374, respectively. The region underneath the p-well tap 368 isdoped heavily with p-type impurities to make good ohmic contact. Thep-well 310 is formed in an n-well marked as 315 for applications wherethe p-well of the JFET has to be isolated. For applications where thep-well is connected to the ground potential, the need for the n-well isobviated. Both of these cases are encompassed herein.

The doping types are reversed for the p-channel JFET in relation tothose described in FIGS. 3 b and 3 c, i.e. the p-type regions arereplaced by n-type regions and vice versa. It should be pointed out thatdoping the gate of the JFET with polycrystalline silicon 375 ismaintained for the p-channel JFET also.

An alternate embodiment of the JFET is shown in FIG. 4. This Figureshows the cross section of an n-channel JFET, which is very similar toan MOS transistor. The structure of the n-channel JFET is describedhere. It is implied that this structure will also be replicated for thep-channel JFET with appropriate changes in doping, as described in theparagraph above. The JFET is shown as object 400. The p-well in whichthe JFET is formed is marked as object 310. The isolation for the JFETis provided by a region filled with an insulating material such assilicon dioxide or other suitable materials in object 320. Thisstructure is similar to the corresponding structure shown in FIG. 3. Theheavily doped n-type regions form the source and drain region and aremarked 420 and 430, respectively. The channel region between source anddrain is lightly doped n-type and is marked 450. The gate region isdoped p-type and is marked 440. This region is diffused from thepolysilicon with heavy p-type doping marked as 460. An insulating regionmarked 465 is inserted here, surrounding the gate, consisting of acombination of silicon dioxide and nitride layers. This object is calleda “spacer” in this document. In an exemplary embodiment, top surfaces ofthe regions 420, 430, 460 and 368 are covered with a highly conductinglayer of one of the metallic compounds called silicides, marked as 462.The silicide layer is self aligned to the well tap, source, drain, andgate regions, implying that the silicide is formed only in the regionswhere there is exposed silicon or polysilicon. An exemplary purposeserved by the spacer is that it isolates the source and drain regionsfrom the gate region when self aligned silicides are formed. It alsoallows efficient distribution of current from the contact inside thedevice. The contacts to the well tap, source, drain, and gate regionsare done in a manner similar to that in FIG. 3, and are marked as 371,372, 373, and 374, respectively.

In an alternate embodiment of the JFET, as shown in FIG. 5, contacts toall the terminals of the JFET, namely source, gate, drain, and well, areall made with polysilicon. This structure has the desirable attribute ofhaving contacts to all terminals at the same level. The n-channel JFETis made in a p-well marked 310, which is isolated from all sides by aninsulated region 320. This structure is similar to the correspondingstructure shown in FIG. 3. The source of the JFET is formed by acombination of heavily n-doped regions 520 and 522. The drain of theJFET is also formed by a combination of heavily doped n-type regions 524and 526. The channel 550 is a shallow n-type doped region between drainand source. The p-type gate region diffused in silicon is marked as 540.Blocks 530 and 532 are heavily n-type polysilicon doped regions. Theregion 520 is formed by diffusing n-type impurities from the polysiliconinto the silicon. Similarly, region 524 is formed by diffusion of n-typeimpurities from the polysilicon region 532 into the silicon. The gateregion 540 is formed by diffusion of the p-type impurities from thep-type polysilicon 560 into the silicon. The regions 522 and 526 connectthe source and the drain regions 520 and 524, respectively, to thechannel 550. The polysilicon regions marked as 530, 532 and 560 are inohmic contact with regions 520, 524, and 540 respectively. The regions522 and 526 are formed by external doping such as ion implantation,plasma immersion implantation, or other similar doping methods. The welltap is formed by ohmic contact between the heavily p-doped polysilicon562 and the p-type region 368. The contacts to the transistor are madeat the top of the objects 530, 532 and 560 and 562. In order to reduceohmic contact resistance of these regions, self aligned silicide isformed on top of the polysilicon layer, marked as 580. In an alternateembodiment, contacts to the terminals of the transistor are madedirectly to the polysilicon.

In an alternate embodiment, the top surface of the silicon substrate isformed by epitaxial deposition of silicon-germanium alloy, which isdoped appropriately to form the channel and the gate, shown in FIG. 6.The structure is built-in a well 310 with isolation regions 320. Anexemplary feature of this embodiment is that the channel of the JFET isformed on an epitaxially deposited layer of silicon-germanium alloymarked as object 670. The mobility of the silicon-germanium alloy ismuch higher than silicon, which increases the performance of the JFET,especially at high frequencies. This epitaxial layer is deposited on thetransistor after the formation of the isolation structure on the wafer.The epitaxial layer can be deposited selectively in this embodiment onthe islands where the channel is to be formed. The epitaxial layer forthe channel of the nJFET is deposited in one step, and the epitaxiallayer for the channel of the pJFET is deposited in the next step. Inanother embodiment, the epitaxial layer is deposited on the wafer priorto the formation of the isolation structure. In yet another embodiment,the channel region is formed by a strained silicon-germanium alloy.Another embodiment teaches the use of silicon-germanium-carbon to buildthe channel region of the JFETs. The terms silicon-germanium alloy andstrained alloys are well known to those skilled in the art. Thesilicon-germanium alloy is formed by deposition of a mixture of siliconand germanium atoms epitaxially on the silicon substrate. The remainingstructure of the JFET is similar to the structure shown in FIG. 5. Thedoping of the epitaxially deposited channel is controlled by externaldoping, such as ion implantation. Alternately, the epitaxially depositedmaterial is doped during deposition by methods such as atomic layerepitaxy and similar techniques. The epitaxial deposition steps are alsoapplicable to the JFET structures shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

Another embodiment, shown in FIG. 7, involves the use of a high band gapmaterial such as silicon carbide or silicon-germanium carbide to formthe gate contact region 744. This feature is implemented in order toincrease the barrier height at the p-n junction formed at the gate640-channel 650 junction. The high band gap material of the gate contactregion 744 in proximity to the gate region 640 effectively increases thebarrier height at the p-n junction formed at the gate 640-channel 650junction. The higher gate-channel junction built-in potential reducesthe saturation current across the junction, and allows an increase inthe maximum voltage which can be applied to the gate-channel diode toforward bias it without causing a significant amount of gate current toflow across the diode. Since the maximum voltage at the gate is equal tothe power supply voltage of the inverter, a higher power supply voltagebecomes possible, increasing the drive strength of the transistors andresulting in faster switching of the inverter. As shown in FIG. 7 forthis embodiment, the polycrystalline silicon carbide material is used inplace of polysilicon to form the electrodes. The use of a high band gapmaterial such as polycrystalline silicon carbide reduces the leakagecurrent of the gate junction when the gate-channel diode is weaklyforward biased during the ON state of the transistor. Various phases ofsilicon carbide can be used for this purpose, namely 3C, 4H, and 6H.Further, various other electrode materials can be used to form arectifying junction with the silicon substrate, including ternary alloysof silicon-germanium-carbon and various other compound semiconductorssuch as gallium-aluminum-arsenide-phosphide. In an alternate embodiment,use of materials for the gate such as silicon carbide is made along withepitaxially deposited high mobility materials such as silicon-germaniumat the same time. The composition of the gate material is varied duringdeposition. The electrode extensions for source, drain, gate, and welltap, marked as 730, 732, 744, and 752, are made of high band gapsemiconductor material such as silicon carbide. A self alignedconducting layer is formed on the top of these electrodes and is markedas 750. The polycrystalline semiconducting materials are dopedappropriately, as described in the previous paragraphs. The othercomponents of the transistors remain similar to the nJFET structuredescribed in FIG. 6.

An exemplary embodiment teaches the use of a silicon-carbide layer nearthe surface of the silicon to a depth ranging from 10 Å to 1000 Å,followed by deposition of polysilicon to a depth of 10 Å to 2500 Å. Thecomposition of the polycrystalline layer is varied to facilitateaccurate monitoring of the etching process, in which the polycrystallinematerial is etched fast until the composition marking the bottom of thelayer is detected and then slowly with a selective etching process untilall the polycrystalline material is etched. Detailed explanation of thefabrication process using polycrystalline silicon carbide is explainedlater in this document.

Next, an exemplary but non-limiting method of building the complementaryJFET structure as shown in FIG. 5 is illustrated as the flow chart inFIG. 9. Each step in the flow chart is further illustrated in FIGS.10-20. Step 905 is illustrated in FIG. 10. Step 910 is illustrated inFIG. 11. Step 915 is illustrated in FIG. 12. Step 920 and 925 areillustrated in FIG. 13. Step 930 is illustrated in FIG. 14. Step 935 isillustrated in FIG. 15. Step 940 is illustrated in FIG. 16. Step 950 isillustrated in FIG. 17. Step 955 is illustrated in FIG. 18. Step 960 isillustrated in FIG. 19. Step 965 is illustrated in FIG. 20.

FIG. 10 shows the cross sectional view of a semiconductor substrateafter the preliminary steps during the fabrication have been completedto achieve the isolation of the various regions where active deviceswill be formed by a combination of etching, thermal oxidation anddeposition of silicon dioxide. Regions 1001-1005 represent the regionswhich are filled with insulating material comprises (e.g., consistingof) silicon oxide and nitride by a combination of etching, depositionand thermal growth. The details of the process for the formation ofthese regions are well known to those skilled in the art and are beyondthe scope of this disclosure. Regions 1011-1014 represent regions whereactive transistors are formed in the subsequent steps.

FIG. 11 shows the formation of n-wells and p-wells by doping the activeregions with appropriate impurities in regions 1101 and 1102. For then-wells in region 1102, phosphorous or arsenic atoms are implanted. Thedoping level of the implant varies between 1.0×10¹¹/cm² to 1.0×10¹⁴/cm².The energy of implantation varies between 10 KeV and 400 KeV. For thep-wells in region 1101, boron is introduced by ion implantation with adose varying between 1.0×10¹¹/cm² and 1.0×10¹⁴/cm² and with the energyof implantation varying between 10 KeV and 400 KeV. Multiple implantsmay be used to achieve the desired impurity doping profile. In order toselectively implant regions with n-type and p-type impurities, implantsare done using photoresist masks to shield the region not designed toreceive the implant. Additional implants of boron are done under theisolation regions 1001-1005 to increase the doping in the regionunderneath the oxide and prevent any leakage between the two adjoiningn-wells. The wafers are heat-treated to achieve the desired impuritydoping profile.

FIGS. 12 a and 12 b show the formation of channel regions 1202 for thenJFET and 1222 for the pJFET respectively. The channel region is formedby selective implantation using photoresist masks. For the nJFET, thechannel is formed by ion implantation with an n-type dopant such asarsenic, phosphorous, or antimony with an implant dose of 2.0×10¹¹/cm²to 1.0×10¹⁴/cm² and with the implant energy between 1 and 100 KeV, shownas region 1202 in FIG. 12 a. Also shown in the Figure is the photoresist1210 covering the regions where the n-channel implant is to be blocked.Region 1222 in FIG. 12 b is implanted with p-type impurities such asboron, indium or thallium to form the channel of the pJFET. In analternate embodiment, the channel region is formed by plasma immersiondoping. Alternately, the channel is formed by epitaxial growth of thechannel region consisting of silicon, silicon-germanium binary alloys,or silicon-germanium-carbon tertiary alloys. Variations in formation ofepitaxial regions by selective epitaxial growth of channel regions forn-channel and p-channel are encompassed herein, as well as a singledeposition of the channel regions for both nJFET and pJFET, followed byselective doping. Yet another embodiment covers the instance in whichthe channel regions are doped during deposition by methods such asatomic layer epitaxy.

Next, a layer of polysilicon is deposited over the whole wafer, as shownin FIG. 13. The thickness of polysilicon deposited on the wafer variesbetween 100 Å and 10,000 Å. The polysilicon is selectively doped to formregions which will eventually become the source, drain, gate, and wellcontacts of the JFETs using photoresist as masks. The details of thephotolithographic process are omitted here for the sake of brevity. Asshown in 1300, the region marked as 1310 is doped with a heavy boronimplant to a dose ranging between 1×10¹³/cm² and 1×10¹⁶/cm². It isdesigned to act as the contact for the well region of the n-JFET. Region1314 is designed to act as the gate contact for the n-JFET. It is dopedheavily p-type with the parameters similar to those of region 1310.Regions 1312 and 1316 are doped heavily with n-type dopants(phosphorous, arsenic, and antimony) to a dose ranging between1×10¹³/cm² and 1×10¹⁶/cm²

The p-JFET is formed with regions 1324 and 1320 acting as the source anddrain contacts (p type), respectively, region 1322 as the gate (n type),and region 1326 as the contact to the well tap (n type). Regions 1320and 1324 are doped with a heavy concentration of boron atoms to a doseranging between 1×10¹³/cm² and 1×10¹⁶/cm² and are designed to act as thesource and drain contacts of the pJFET respectively. Similarly, regions1322 and 1326 are doped heavily n-type and are designed to act as gateand well contacts of pJFET. In an alternate embodiment, a layer of oxideis deposited on top of the polysilicon layer before doing the ionimplantation. The thickness of this layer varies between 20 Å and 500 Å.In another embodiment, layers of oxide and nitride are deposited on topof the polysilicon prior to ion implantation, with the thickness of theoxide and nitride films varying between 10 Å and 500 Å.

FIG. 14 shows the cross section of the silicon wafer with thepolysilicon layer doped with impurities, and a protective layer 1410 ontop of the polysilicon layer. The polysilicon layer with impuritiesimplanted in various regions is used as a source of indirect diffusionof those impurities into the silicon to form the source, drain, and gatejunctions and ohmic connections to the well. Regions 1422 and 1426 arethe source and drain regions of the nJFET which are diffused frompolysilicon regions 1312 and 1316. Region 1424 is the n-type channel.The gate region, marked as 1428, is diffused into the silicon from thep-doped polysilicon. Region 1420 is the p-type region (well tap) formedin the silicon by diffusion from the polysilicon region 1310 and formsan ohmic contact to the p-well which contains the nJFET. Similarly, thepJFET contacts in the silicon are formed by regions 1434 as the source,1432 as the channel, region 1430 as the drain, region 1436 as the wellcontact, and region 1438 as the gate region of the pJFET. In analternate embodiment, multiple ion implants, varying the implant doseand energy, of n-type and p-type dopants in polysilicon are made to formthe well contacts, source, drain, and gate regions.

After diffusion of the various regions of the JFETs into the silicon,the gate patterning process takes place. Using an optical lithographicprocess, a layer of an anti-reflective coating, followed by a layer ofphotoresist are coated on the wafer. The thickness of these layersdepends upon the selection of the photoresist, as is known to thoseskilled in the art. The photoresist layer is exposed and variousterminals are delineated in the photoresist, marked as 1510 in FIG. 15.Alternate embodiment includes other methods of patterning thephotoresist, including imprint lithography and e-beam lithography. Withthe photoresist layer as the mask, the protective layer above thepolysilicon is etched first. Next, the polysilicon layer is etched, withthe grooves such as 1512 reaching the bottom of the polysilicon layer.This step isolates the various terminals electrically, as shown in 1500.For patterning the photoresist, various processes such as opticallithography, immersion lithography, imprint lithography, direct writee-beam lithography, x-ray lithography, or extreme ultravioletlithography are used.

FIG. 16 a is the cross section of the silicon wafer after doping thelink region between the gate and the drain/source of the p-channel JFET.After etching the polysilicon layer, the region between the heavilydoped regions and the channel are doped to form a low conductivity pathbetween the source and channel, and the drain and channel. They arecalled the link regions 1620 and 1622 (see FIG. 16 a); as well as 1652and 1654 (see FIG. 16 b). FIG. 16 a further shows the formation of thelink region for a pJFET. The section of the wafer containing the nJFETis covered by photoresist 1610 during this step while a suitable dopingprocess such as ion implantation or plasma immersion implantation isused to dope the link regions of pJFET 1620 and 1622. The link regionsare formed to a junction depth independent from that of the neighboringsource and drain regions, and are designed to provide a very lowresistivity connection between source/drain and the channel.

FIG. 16 b is the cross section of the silicon wafer after doping thelink region between the gate and the drain/source of the n-channel JFET.Object 1650 is the photoresist covering the regions where the implant isblocked, which contain the pJFET. Regions 1652 and 1654 in the siliconare the link regions formed by the implantation of n-type dopants. Afterion implantation, the dopants are activated by a rapid thermal annealingprocess. An oxidation step, at temperatures ranging between 700 C and950 C and for times ranging between 10 seconds and 20 minutes, is alsoperformed to oxidize the region of silicon damaged during etching.

FIG. 17 shows the cross section of the wafer after the gap between thepolysilicon blocks is filled with an insulating material such as silicondioxide and then processed, using a method such aschemical-mechanical-polishing, to provide a nearly planar surface at thesame level as the polysilicon layer. The technique of filling insulatingmaterial in between the polysilicon blocks by depositing silicon dioxideusing chemical vapor deposition or plasma assisted chemical vapordeposition is one which is widely used in semiconductor manufacturing.One such process employs the deposition of oxide by a low temperatureplasma-activated reaction between silane and oxygen in gaseous form. Theprotective layer 1410 is finally removed to expose the bare polysiliconsurface.

FIG. 18 is the cross section of the silicon wafer after formation ofself aligned silicide on the exposed polysilicon surfaces. A layer of ametal such as nickel, cobalt, titanium, platinum, palladium, or otherrefractory metal is deposited on the polysilicon surface and annealedsuch that the exposed regions of polysilicon form a binary compound withthe metal layer known as “metal silicides”. The metal silicide is a veryhighly conductive substance. An exemplary thickness of the depositedmetal is between 50 Å and 1000 Å on an atomically clean surface ofpolysilicon. The wafers are heated in a rapid anneal furnace attemperatures between 200 C and 800 C for a time period between 10seconds and 30 minutes to form silicides selectively where metal is incontact with a silicon or polysilicon layer. After the reaction betweenthe metal layer and silicon has taken place, the excess metal is removedfrom the wafer by a chemical etching process which does not affect thesilicide layer. Unreacted metal is selectively etched off usingappropriate solvents, leaving only metal silicide over the exposedsilicon and polysilicon regions 1801. For titanium and cobalt, a mixtureof hydrogen peroxide and ammonium hydroxide is used in ratio of 1:0.1 to1:10 as appropriate at room temperature, although temperatures aboveroom temperatures can also be used. Thus, a self aligned layer ofsilicide is formed on polysilicon. FIG. 18 shows the cross section ofthe device after formation of silicide on the polysilicon source, drain,gate, and well tap terminals. This polysilicon layer is also used as alocal interconnect, whereby regions of silicided n-type polysilicon andp-type polysilicon are used for making ohmic contacts.

The next process step consists of depositing a dielectric (oxide) layer,etching contact holes in the oxide layer, and forming contact holes forthe source, drain, gate and well tap terminals, and continuing with theconventional metal interconnect formation process as practiced in theformation of semiconductor chips. A cross section of the wafer afterdielectric deposition and contact hole etch is shown in FIG. 19. Themetal deposition and etch is shown in FIG. 20.

This process can be adapted for making MOS transistors along with JFETs.One application of this adaptation is to include CMOS-compatible I/Os onthe chip. The process to make MOS transistors is described next. FIG. 21shows the cross section of a wafer after the formation of the n-wellsand p-wells for JFETs and MOSFETs. The threshold (V_(t)) adjust implantsfor the MOSFETs are also completed. In addition, the formation ofchannel regions for the JFETs is also completed. A layer of gatedielectric (oxide or nitrogenated oxide) is grown on the wafer. Thislayer of oxide is etched away from the wafer except in the regionssurrounding the gate of the MOSFETs. This oxide layer is shown as object2110. In an alternate embodiment of this invention, a thin layer ofamorphous silicon is deposited on top of the gate dielectric immediatelyafter the oxide is grown. The thickness of this amorphous layer issufficient to prevent damage to the underlying gate dielectric duringthe next photomasking and etching step. The preferred thickness of thisamorphous silicon layer is between 10 Å and 5000 Å. In an alternateembodiment of the invention, the oxide layer is formed first, and thechannel for the JFETs is formed afterwards.

Next, a layer of polysilicon is deposited on the wafer as shown in FIG.22. The polysilicon layer is covered by a protective layer of oxidemarked as 2220. With photolithography to define certain regions on thewafer, a layer of photoresist is selectively removed from the wafer andthe exposed areas are implanted with n-type and p-type dopants. ThisFigure shows the polysilicon layer with selectively doped regions.Region 2210 is doped p-type, region 2212 is doped n-type, region 2214 isdoped p-type, and region 2216 is doped n-type. The parameters for dopingthese regions are the same as the parameters described in FIG. 13.

The next step is the definition of the gate and the remaining electrodeson polysilicon, as shown in FIG. 23. It is accomplished by firstdefining the pattern in a photoresist layer 2330. Next, using thephotoresist layer as a mask, the polysilicon layer is etched to definethe electrodes. Region 2310 forms the well tap of the NMOS, region 2312forms the source of the NMOS, region 2314 forms the gate of the NMOS,region 2316 forms the drain of the NMOS, region 2324 forms the source ofthe PMOS, region 2322 forms the gate of the PMOS, region 2320 forms thedrain region of the drain of the PMOS, and region 2326 forms the welltap for the PMOS. After etching the polysilicon layer, a short oxidationcycle is executed to form an oxide on the surface of silicon with athickness between 20 Å and 500 Å. Additional heat cycles are executed todiffuse the dopants into the silicon from the polysilicon in the drain,source, and the well tap regions while controlling the diffusion of thedopants from the polysilicon into the gate dielectric and into thechannel region.

FIG. 24 shows the formation of the link between the source, drain, andchannel regions by ion implantation. For NMOS, the links between thedrain and the channel and the source and the channel are formed by ionimplantation of n-type dopants marked as 2410 and 2412 respectively. ForPMOS, the links between the source and the channel and the drain and thechannel are formed by ion implantation of p-type dopants marked as 2420and 2422 respectively. A rapid thermal anneal is carried out to activatethe implant. The cross section of the wafer is very similar to the oneshown in FIG. 17. The wafer is processed by the method described inFIGS. 17 through 20.

The complete flow for forming JFETs and MOSFETs on the same wafer isshown in FIG. 25. The MOS transistors fabricated in this manner can haveadvantages over the known methods of building MOS transistors, asdescribed here:

Known MOS transistors have a spacer which is used to separate the highlydoped source/drain regions from the gate. The dimensions of the spacerare dependent upon the vertical polysilicon dimension and otherprocessing parameters, and are not laterally scalable. The currentembodiment of the MOS transistor uses lithography to separate thesource/drain and the gate region, making this structure laterallyscalable.

Known MOS transistors have a lightly doped source and drain region underthe spacer, which limits the injection efficiency of the source, or themaximum current which can be controlled by the transistor. The currentembodiment of the MOS transistor uses the link region as the source anddrain junctions and it allows the doping of this region to be controlledindependently.

Known MOS transistors have symmetrical source and drain regions. Thisembodiment allows asymmetrical source and drain junctions to be formedby spacing the source and drain polysilicon contacts from the gateasymmetrically.

Known MOS transistors have varying contact depths to the source/drainand the gate terminals; the contacts to the source/drain terminals aremade directly to silicon while the contact to the gate terminal is madeto polysilicon which is elevated from the source/drain junctions. Thisembodiment of MOS transistors etches all the contact holes to thepolysilicon, keeping the depth of all the holes the same.

Known MOS transistors compromise the short channel performance due tolimitations imposed by a shallow source/drain junction and the silicideformation on top of these junctions. This embodiment of the MOStransistors removes this limitation by placing the silicide on top ofthe polysilicon for all the junctions. Also, the shallow source/drainjunction in the silicon is formed by diffusion of dopants from thepolysilicon, which is a slower and more controllable process.

This method to build JFETs and MOSFETs allows a planar surface to existprior to contact hole etch. It also insures that the amount ofpolysilicon removed is limited, which can be important in achieving auniform plasma etch. It is well known that the variation in the densityof the polysilicon pattern on the silicon wafer is responsible forvariation in the etch rate of polysilicon. In this method, this problemcan be overcome by the fact that the pattern density of polysilicon ismuch higher than in conventional process technology. Also, the contactsto the various junctions are separated by the polysilicon layer, whichmakes it extremely convenient to form shallow source and drainjunctions.

Steps in FIG. 25 are further illustrated in FIG. 26-30.

FIG. 26 shows the cross section of a silicon wafer after the formationof isolation areas (2610), a p-well for forming NMOS transistors markedas 2601 and another p-well for forming nJFETs marked as 2602.Corresponding well structures to form PMOS transistors and pJFETs arealso formed but are omitted here for the sake of brevity. After theV_(t) adjust implants are performed in silicon for the MOS transistors,gate oxidation is performed over the whole wafer and a gate dielectriclayer of appropriate thickness is grown on the wafer, ranging between 10Å and 100 Å. It is shown as layer 2620 in this Figure. In alternateembodiments of the invention, the gate dielectric is formed with a highdielectric coefficient material such as hafnium silicate and similarmaterials known to those skilled in the art.

FIG. 27 shows the wafer cross section after the following steps havebeen executed. First, the gate dielectric is removed by wet etching or asuitable technique such as plasma etching selectively from the regionswhere the JFET channel is to be formed. Next, the JFET channel is formedby ion implantation, marked as object 2710. After the formation of thechannel, a layer of polycrystalline material is deposited on the wafer.It is marked as 2720.

The gate electrodes of the JFET and the MOS transistors are implantedwith appropriate dopants. The gate regions of the NMOS transistor andthe pJFET are doped heavily n-type with arsenic, phosphorus, orantimony. The gate electrode regions of the PMOS and the nJFET areimplanted with p-type dopants, namely boron. The gate electrode regionsare implanted with a heavy dose of the dopants in the range of1×10¹⁴/cm² to 1×10¹⁶/cm². An alternate embodiment of the inventionincludes multiple implant steps for forming the gate electrode region ofthe MOS and JFET transistors. The wafer is heated to distribute thedopants throughout the polysilicon layer.

A photomask is put on the wafer and the layer of polysilicon is etchedto define the gate electrodes for the transistors, as is shown in FIG.28. Object 2810 forms the gate of the NMOS transistor while the object2820 forms the gate electrode of the nJFET transistor. The gate of theNMOS transistor is formed with n-type polysilicon while the gate of thenJFET is formed with p-type polysilicon. After defining the gate, ashort oxidation cycle is executed to remove the damage from the surfaceof polysilicon. Layers of oxide and nitride are deposited next andetched anisotropically to form spacers adjacent to the gate electrodes.At the end of the spacer formation, the cross section of the wafer showsa gate electrode surrounded by spacers on both sides. The objects marked2830 are the spacers surrounding the gate. It should be noted here thatthe polysilicon on the nJFET islands (object 2602) does not have a layerof oxide underneath to stop the etch. So, the polysilicon etchingprocess has to be conducted very carefully so as not to over-etch thepolysilicon and etch into the silicon. Process steps to preventover-etching the polysilicon have been described earlier in thisapplication.

FIG. 29 shows the cross section of the silicon wafer after the sourceand drain regions for the MOS and JFET transistors are formed. Theprocess step consists of forming the Lightly Doped Drain (LDD) regionfor the NMOS transistors. This is done by selective ion implantation ofn-type dopants in the NMOS region 2601. This step is also accompaniedwith an implant of dopant of opposite polarity (p-type) to prevent thedepletion regions of drain and source from touching each other, causinga phenomenon known as “punch through”. This step is known as the“anti-punch-through” implant. The LDD and the anti-punch-throughimplants are performed at angle of incidence on the wafer ranging fromperfectly vertical to a tilt of 60% from the vertical. These regions aremarked as 2910 in the FIG. 29. A similar process is performed to createa low resistance region (link) between the channel of the JFET and thesource and drain regions. The links are formed adjacent to the gate ofthe JFET, marked as objects 2920. The source and drain regions areformed by ion implantation of n-type impurities for both NMOS and nJFETtransistors. The n-type ion implantation to form source and drainterminals for NMOS is a well established process. For the nJFET, thedoping type of source and drain is opposite to that of the gate. Theimplant parameters of the source and drain are adjusted to insure thatthe n-type dopants used for forming these terminals do not invert thepolarity of the gate region. The gate doping for the JFET is maintainedat a high level by implanting with n or p type dopants to a dose of1×10¹⁴/cm² to 1×10¹⁶/cm². The energy of the implantation is selectedbased on the polysilicon thickness. The doping of the source and drainof the JFET is kept lower than the gate doping in order to insure thatinversion of the gate doping does not occur. The source and drainregions of the NMOS transistor are marked as 2950 and 2952, and thesource and drain of the nJFET are marked as 2954 and 2956, respectively.

FIG. 30 a shows the cross section of the silicon wafer after contactholes and metal connections are formed. Following the source and drainformation, the self aligned silicide formation takes place by depositinga layer of metal such as cobalt, nickel, titanium, platinum, etc. andheating the wafer to allow the metal to react with the exposed siliconsurface, forming the silicide compound. The unused metal is washed awayby a wet chemical etch. This is followed by deposition of a layer ofoxide at temperatures below 600 C as a dielectric layer to cover thewhole wafer, as shown in FIG. 30 a. Contact holes 3010 are etched in thedielectric layer. Metallic alloys in single or multiple layers aredeposited over the wafer and they are patterned by a photolithographicprocess, followed by etching of the metal layer to form interconnectsfrom the transistors shown as object 3020. The layout of the NMOS andnJFET is shown in FIG. 30 b. The source, drain, and gate regions of theNMOS transistor are marked as 3051 and 3050, and 3054. Their respectivecontact holes are marked as 3060, 3061 and 3064. Similarly, source,drain, and gate regions of the nJFET are marked as objects 3052, 3053,and 3055, and their contact holes are marked as 3062, 3063, and 3065,respectively.

Exemplary embodiments provide numerous advantages described herein. Forexample, compatibility with MOS can be achieved in accordance withexemplary embodiments. An exemplary comparison of NFET and NMOS is shownbelow. This is based upon T_(OX) of 10 Å for MOS; and T_(depletion) of720 Å for JFET (with corresponding channel doping 1×10¹⁸/cm²). Thisresult in significant in input capacitance and related performancespecifications, as shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1 NFET NMOS Ldrawn 45 nm 45 Ion (uA/um) 280 500 C* (fF) 0.06 1.5CV/I** (pS) 0.27 3.1 ½CV2 (W) 8.10E−18 7.77E−16

The gate region can have an impurity concentration doped from the gateelectrode region.

In comparison to fabricating a MOS structure, the JFET structure can bemanufactured with fewer processing steps. In addition to the eliminationof the gate dielectric, the gate in a JFET can be fabricated bydiffusing the dopants from polysilicon. Using a single critical maskingstep and simplified contact hole etch process (i.e., drop down to thesame level), process complexity can be reduced. Furthermore, electronmobility enhancing technology developed for CMOS (e.g., strainedlattice) can be applicable to the JFET devices disclosed herein.

In exemplary embodiments, the thickness of the depletion layer can bebetween about 100 Å to about 3000 Å during the application of the secondvoltage. The gate region can have a line-width of about 45 nm.

In an exemplary embodiment, a first JFET can be configured adjacent to asecond JFET, wherein the channel region of the first JFET is n-type andthe channel region of the second JFET is p-type. FIG. 31 is an exemplarycomplementary FET (CFET), fabricated from two adjacent JFET devicespreviously described and embodied in FIGS. 3 b and 5. FIG. 31illustrates two adjacent device JFET devices, one with an n-type channeland the other with a p-type channel.

Various devices currently utilize CMOS technology, for example, staticlogic gates, dynamic logic gates, pass logic gates and memories. Thesedevices can be fabricated by incorporating JFET technology as describedherein. The JFET can be incorporated into any number of circuits and/ordevices including, but not limited to a memory device such as an SRAM.

FIG. 32 shows an equivalent circuit to model the delay propagation delayassociated with an exemplary repeater insertion configured using a JFETtransistor as described in H. B. Bakoglu, Ph.D. Dissertation, StanfordUniversity 1986, pp. 43-46.

In general, JFET devices with lower junction capacitance can reduce thepropagation delay, in comparison to their CMOS counterparts. Propagationdelay, T_(d), can be computed from the following expression:

$T_{d} = {k\left\lbrack {{2.3\frac{R_{0}}{h}\left( {\frac{C_{int}}{k} + {h\; C_{0}}} \right)} + {\frac{R_{int}}{k}\left( {\frac{C_{int}}{k} + {2.3{hC}_{0}}} \right)}} \right\rbrack}$

By setting dTd/h=0 and dTd/dk=0, yields:

T _(d)=7.6√{square root over ((R ₀ R _(int) C ₀ C _(int)))}

or

T _(d)=Const.√{square root over (R ₀ C ₀)}

In other words, the R₀C₀ value for CFET exhibits an approximatelyten-fold decrease or about a three-fold decrease in propagation delay.

FIGS. 33 and 34 illustrate the propagation delay, in seconds, as afunction of number of line segments k, and buffer segments, for bothCFET and CMOS devices.

Furthermore, assuming:

$k = \sqrt{\frac{R_{int}C_{int}}{R_{0} \star C_{0}}}$$k = \sqrt{\frac{R_{0}C_{int}}{R_{int} \star C_{0}}}$Power = 1/2C_(int)V_(dd)² + k ⋆ h ⋆ 1/2 ⋆ C₀ ⋆ V_(dd)²

and by substituting the expression for k and h into the expressiondescribing power yields:

Power=½*C _(int) *V _(dd) ²+½√{square root over (2.3)}*C _(int) *V _(dd)²

Thus, at optimal values of k and h, power is a function of C_(int) only.In other words, power is independent of C₀. The above expressions arealso described, by H. B. Bakoglu, PhD. Dissertation, Stanford University1986, pp. 43-46, incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The following Table illustrates exemplary parameters of a CFET deviceversus those of a CMOS device for use in the exemplary FIG. 32 repeater:

45 nm Technology Node CFET CMOS Global Wiring Line length (cm) 1 1 Rint(Ω) 1.11E+04 1.11E+04 Cint (pF) 1.57E−12 1.57E−12 R₀ - Driver resistance(Ω-μm) 5.38E+02 3.14E+02 C₀ - Driver Input Capacitance (F/μm) 6.48E−171.55E−15 h - Optimum buffer width (μm) 34.3 5.3 k - Optimum No. ofsegments 466.8 124.8 VDD (V) 0.5 1

In alternate embodiments, where a plurality of JFET devices areconfigured in a repeater chain, a propagation delay is inverselyproportional to a number of devices in the requester chain. In oneexample, the propagation delay can be less than 20 nanoseconds. Such afeature is illustrated in the FIG. 33 graph.

In alternate embodiments of a JFET device described herein, the channelregion can include at least a layer of strained material. For example,the strained material can be a strained silicon.

The semiconductor substrate can be formed of at least one of Si, GaAs,InP or any III-V material.

An advantage of an NFET device as described herein is reduced leakagecurrent, in comparison to its NMOS counterpart, as illustrated in FIGS.35 and 36. The total leakage current is a sum of the followingcomponents: the sub-threshold current (I_(sub)), the gate current(I_(g)) and junction tunneling current (I_(t)).

Transistors as described herein can, for example, be suitable for nextgeneration telephone/PDA handsets having exemplary specifications asfollows:

Power=0.1 W (idle)/5 W (active)

Chip area=1 cm2

Gate count=100 M

Clock=1 GHz

10% of the gates active at any time

Power per gate=500 nW

50% of the power dissipated as active power

Active power=250 nW=½CV2

Fabrication of handsets with CMOS devices involve the followingexemplary characteristics: V_(dd)=1.0 V, C=0.5 fF/gate and C_(gate)=1.5fF/μm (state of the art). In contrast, exemplary fabrication of handsetswith CFET, can be implemented with the following exemplarycharacteristics: V_(dd)=0.5 V, C=2.0 fF/gate and C_(gate)=0.06 fF/μm(state of the art).

The following illustrates exemplary parameters of a next generationhandset:

Chip area=1 cm²

Gate count=100 M

Clock=1 GHz

10% of the gates active at any time

-   -   Active power=½CV2·f·N·a, with f is as clock frequency, N as        total number of gates, and a is activity factor

C_(total)/gate=3·co+8·H·cint

-   -   H is the cell height (=20 F, feature size)    -   C_(o) is the input gate capacitance    -   C_(int) is the wire capacitance/micron (0.15 fF/μm)        100M gates as configured with JFET transistors described herein        can occupy 1 cm², where 1 gate occupies 1 um², the feature        size=0.045 nm and cell height H=22 F. Applying these parameters,        a CMOS chip with Vdd=1.0 V, C_(total)=4.79 fF consumes 24.0 W of        power. In contrast, a JFET chip as described herein with        V_(dd)=0.5 V, C_(total)=1.63 fF consumes 2.0 W of power or        exhibits a ten-fold decrease in power consumption. This        beneficial characteristic can result in lower power dissipation        and low chip/package temperature effects, and low leakage.

As illustrated in FIGS. 37 and 38, for CMOS devices, the primary focusis on the fabrication of devices with the emphasis on performance, whileminimizing area, rather than power consumption. However, the primaryfocus of JFET devices includes low power consumption, while maintainingan emphasis on performance and the minimization of area.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the presentinvention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing fromthe spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presently disclosedembodiments are therefore considered in all respects to be illustrativeand not restricted. The scope of the invention is indicated by theappended claims rather than the foregoing description and all changesthat come within the meaning and range and equivalence thereof areintended to be embraced therein.

1. (canceled)
 2. A complementary field effect transistor (CFET) invertercircuit, comprising: a p-channel junction field effect transistor (JFET)comprising: a source terminal coupled to a power supply voltage; a gateterminal coupled to an input voltage; and a drain terminal coupled to anoutput voltage; and an n-channel JFET comprising: a source terminalcoupled to a reference voltage; a drain terminal coupled to the drainterminal of the p-channel JFET and to the output voltage; and a gateterminal coupled to the gate terminal of the p-channel JFET and to theinput voltage.
 3. The CFET inverter of claim 2, wherein the referencevoltage comprises ground.
 4. The CFET inverter of claim 2, wherein thepower supply voltage comprises 0.5 volts.
 5. The CFET inverter of claim2, wherein the p-channel JFET is turned ON and the n-channel JFET isturned OFF, the input voltage is 0 volts and the output voltage is thepower supply voltage.
 6. The CFET inverter of claim 2, wherein thep-channel JFET is turned OFF and the n-channel JFET is turned ON, theinput voltage is power supply voltage and the output voltage is 0 volts.7. The CFET inverter of claim 2, wherein the p-channel JFET comprises anenhancement mode device.
 8. The CFET inverter of claim 2, having atleast one of the following: the p-channel JFET further comprises a wellterminal coupled to the source terminal of the p-channel JFET; and then-channel JFET further comprises a well terminal coupled to the sourceterminal of the n-channel JFET.
 9. The CFET inverter of claim 2, havingat least one of the following: the p-channel JFET further comprises awell terminal coupled to the gate terminal of the p-channel JFET; andthe n-channel JFET further comprises a well terminal coupled to the gateterminal of the n-channel JFET.
 10. The CFET inverter of claim 2, havingat least one of the following: the p-channel JFET further comprises awell terminal to which an external voltage is applied; and the n-channelJFET further comprises a well terminal to which an external voltage isapplied.
 11. The CFET inverter of claim 2, having at least one of thefollowing: the p-channel JFET further comprises a well terminal thatremains floating; and the n-channel JFET further comprises a wellterminal that remains floating.
 12. The CFET inverter of claim 2,wherein at least one of the p-channel JFET and the n-channel JFET has asub-70 nanometer linewidth and an input capacitance that is less thanthe corresponding input capacitance of a CMOS transistor of similarlinewidth.
 13. The CFET inverter of claim 2, wherein at least one of thep-channel JFET and the n-channel JFET operates at a power supply with alesser value than the voltage drop across a forward-biased diode. 14.The CFET inverter of claim 2, wherein at least one of the p-channel JFETand the n-channel JFET has a sub-70 nanometer linewidth and a reducedswitching power as compared to a CMOS transistor of similar linewidth.15. The CFET inverter of claim 2, wherein at least one of the p-channelJFET and the n-channel JFET has a sub-70 nanometer linewidth and apropagation delay that is at least comparable to the corresponding delayof a CMOS transistor of similar linewidth.
 16. A complementary fieldeffect transistor (CFET) inverter circuit, comprising: a p-channeljunction field effect transistor (JFET) comprising: a source terminalcoupled to a power supply voltage; a gate terminal coupled to an inputvoltage; and a drain terminal coupled to an output voltage; and ann-channel JFET comprising: a source terminal coupled to a referencevoltage; a drain terminal coupled to the drain terminal of the p-channelJFET and to the output voltage; and a gate terminal coupled to the gateterminal of the p-channel JFET and to the input voltage; wherein: atleast one of the p-channel JFET and the n-channel JFET has a sub-70nanometer linewidth and an input capacitance that is less than thecorresponding input capacitance of a CMOS transistor of similarlinewidth; wherein at least one of the p-channel JFET and the n-channelJFET operates at a power supply with a lesser value than the voltagedrop across a forward-biased diode; wherein at least one of thep-channel JFET and the n-channel JFET has a sub-70 nanometer linewidthand a reduced switching power as compared to a CMOS transistor ofsimilar linewidth; and wherein at least one of the p-channel JFET andthe n-channel JFET has a sub-70 nanometer linewidth and a propagationdelay that is at least comparable to the corresponding delay of a CMOStransistor of similar linewidth.
 17. A complementary field effecttransistor (CFET) inverter circuit, comprising: an n-channel junctionfield effect transistor (JFET) comprising: a source terminal coupled toa power supply voltage; a gate terminal coupled to an input voltage; anda drain terminal coupled to an output voltage; and a p-channel JFETcomprising: a source terminal coupled to a reference voltage; a drainterminal coupled to the drain terminal of the n-channel JFET and to theoutput voltage; and a gate terminal coupled to the gate terminal of then-channel JFET and to the input voltage.